ARIZONA: Protest Against Desecration of Sacred Sites

PROTEST SNOWBOWL TOMORROW IN FLAGSTAFF!

PROTEST SNOWBOWL THIS WEDNESDAY!

Arizona Snowbowl will be holding their annual Job (un)Fair this Wednesday.
Join us and voice/demonstrate your concerns with Snowbowl's attempts to desecrate the Sacred San Francisco Peaks, cause ecological harm and risk community health.
This is an opportunity to educate people that are considering working at Snowbowl.

What: Protest Arizona Snowbowl's Job (un)Fair!

When: Wednesday, November 7th from 4PM-7PM

Where: Northern Arizona University's Walkup Sky Dome (http://www.nau.edu/web/campus_map/south_campus.html)

Why: Snowbowl Ski Area is attempting to expand their current ski area development and make fake snow from treated sewage effluent on the Sacred San Francisco Peaks despite pleas from tribes, environmental groups and the greater community.

Who: You and anyone who cares about community health, our environment and respecting Indigenous cultures!

www.savethepeaks.org




---
Ninth Circuit Court Allows Review In Legal Case of Recycled Sewage On Sacred Mountain

(Save the Peaks Coalition News Release Oct. 17th 2007)

Flagstaff, AZ -- The 9th Circuit Court has granted the U.S. Forest Service and an Arizona ski resort the opportunity for review of the court's decision on March 12th, 2007 that had provided protection for a mountain held holy by more than 13 Native American Nations. The slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, located in Northern Arizona, have been at the center of a historical and lengthy battle that has pitted economic interests on public lands against environmental integrity, public health and cultural survival. A small local ski resort proposed a plan to expand and use treated waste effluent to make fake snow. However, their development has been halted due to the Ninth Circuit Court ruling, which has been hailed as a victory for Religious Freedom, Environmental Justice & Cultural Survival.

"The decision of the Ninth Circuit to rehear this case is regrettable. It means that the Court will reconsider the case - not that it has reversed any decision at this point. It is, however, even more regrettable that our federal government seems to place the profitability of a privately owned, non-destination ski area, that operates on federal land, over the deeply held religious and cultural convictions of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans living in the southwestern United States." said Howard Shanker, of the Shanker Law Firm, PLC, representing the Navajo Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Yavapai-Apache Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, Rex Tilousi, Dianna Uqualla, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Flagstaff Activist Network.
Shanker, who is running for Congress in Arizona Congressional District 1, further provided that, "this situation is indicative of the fact that we need better laws and lawmakers who are willing to stand up and be counted in the face of this type of injustice. The continued pursuit of the use of reclaimed waste water to make snow on the San Francisco Peaks should be an affront to all people of conscience everywhere."

"We are confident that a hearing en banc by the 9th Circuit Court will only make the current ruling stronger." Rudy Preston of the Flagstaff Activist Network.

"Why in 2007 do we as America's first people have no guarantee for protection of our religious freedom?" said Jeneda Benally a volunteer with the Save the Peaks Coalition. "The case to protect the sacred San Francisco Peaks demonstrates the need for further protection of Native American religious freedom and rights in this country. We will continue our dedication to save the Peaks until we have our human rights fully upheld."

For more information visit: www.savethepeaks.org


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Thanks to:
Ne74

Oklahoma Indians To Protest On Statehood Day - Support Them

Thanks,
IndigenousPeoplesDay

From the frontpage of Indianz.com
Oklahoma Indians to protest on Statehood Day
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Filed Under: National
http://indianz.com/News/2007/005774.asp

Some Oklahoma Indians won't be celebrating November 16, the 100th anniversary of Oklahoma's Statehood.

A group is organizing the Survival Walk and Protest on the Oklahoma Centennial. "We don't want people to forget how our ancestors were treated and brought here, that this was our land first," Brenda Golden told KOCO News.

The walk will start at 9am on Friday, November 16, at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City. For more information, visit

http://www.myspace.com/mvskoke_lady
or
http://www.myspace.com/thunderclanwoman.

Thanks to:
Ne74

In Defense of the Morton West Antiwar Students

If you don't stand for something, you'll stand for anything, so these kids stand for peace....and now face criminal charges for peaceful demonstration against the occupation of Iraq.

In Defense of the Morton West Antiwar Students

We are writing in defense of the students who now face excessive disciplinary actions at the hands of various Morton West school administrators. Our sympathies lie with the courageous and moral struggle that the students have taken up, and with their parents who still support them. The struggle for a peaceful and just society absent of war should not be met with punishment, but should be supported by the community as a whole, especially from within the educational setting. Furthermore, It is our firm belief that an injury to freedom for students anywhere is an injury to freedom for students everywhere. This is why we urge all Morton West administrators to drop all disciplinary action against the said students, and to remove any indications of said events from their permanent records. We urge you to respect these students right to free expression now and in the future.

(Written by Columbia College Chicago Students for a Democratic Society)


Please sign the petition.

Courtesy of:SKAndi;

ARTICLE: Thousands of Chileans to March Against Femicide

INTERNATIONAL

Thousands of Chileans to March Against Femicide

By Matt Malinowski - WeNews correspondent

SANTIAGO, Chile (WOMENSENEWS)--Fifty-two Chilean women have been killed by
their husbands or boyfriends through October and the Network Against
Domestic and Sexual Violence in Chile wants the world to know about it.

The advocacy network, a Santiago-based association of 50 nongovernmental
organizations around Chile, is planning a series of nighttime marches in 12
cities on Nov. 22 to draw citizens into the streets to denounce femicide.

Even though Chile's femicide numbers are far lower than some countries--580
Guatemalan women were murdered in 2006 in what Amnesty International
describes as femicides--the advocacy group is already alarmed by what
happened last year, when 51 Chilean women were killed in murders designated
by both police authorities and human rights groups as femicides.

Under growing pressure from activists and a group of Chilean legislators,
President Michelle Bachelet submitted a women's rights bill to the Chilean
congress in the last week of October.

The bill, to be debated in the next few weeks, recommends that femicide be
distinguished from homicide in Chilean law and that nine new safe houses for
domestic violence be constructed, raising the country's total number to 25.

Bachelet also calls for streamlining police investigations into domestic
violence cases and for creating a special police division designed to
identify and quickly react to high-risk domestic abuse cases.

"There are times to speak, to criticize, to discuss and to analyze. But the
truth is that this is the time to act. Victims can no longer wait," said
Bachelet.

Stronger Measures Urged

Earlier in October, a group of Chilean legislators, led by Rep. Adriana
Munoz, a member of the center-left Party for Democracy, called on the
government to take more vigorous measures against femicide.

These legislators say Bachelet's proposal is a step in the right direction,
but doesn't go far enough.

"I think that this plan is a good effort," said Munoz. "But it is
insufficient. The president still needs to take more drastic measures. She
forgot to include plans to reform Chile's courts. She could have
strengthened the prosecution of these crimes even more . . . I believe that
her plan is too superficial and lacks concrete measures."

Munoz's group outlined a 10-point plan. In addition to incorporating
femicide into Chile's legal code, it includes creating prosecutors' offices
specialized in domestic violence and a nationwide database of
domestic-violence perpetrators.

"We are facing a potential catastrophe for our country's families and social
life," the group said in a statement. "This type of violence requires direct
intervention by national authorities."

Intimate Partners Were Killers

According to police reports, 23 of the 52 murders were committed in
Santiago. Nearly 80 percent of the victims had had an intimate relationship
with their aggressor, either through dating or marriage.

Network organizers are calling attention to a weak response to such violence
and are stoking concerns about a legal system where critics say complaints
about domestic violence are not given adequate attention and where femicide
is not codified as a crime.

The concept of femicide refers to the killing of women because of their
gender and has often been brought about by domestic--as opposed to
stranger--violence. Criminologists consider femicide an expression of male
domination, power and control over women. It is a problem that in its most
extreme form results in murder, and may be accompanied by torture,
mutilation, cruelty and sexual violence.

Currently in Chile, women can report domestic violence at local police
stations or family tribunals, which are courts aimed at resolving domestic
disputes. Critics say that these courts often take two to three months to
process complaints.

"The country's laws urgently have to be adjusted to the situations (of
violence) that many women are facing today," said Soledad Granados, a lawyer
for Amnesty International Chile who specializes in women's rights. "Domestic
violence and femicide should be codified in Chilean law as specific crimes,
and not just lumped together with other crimes. Additionally, there should
be more severe punishments for people who perpetrate this type of violence."

The activists initiated their awareness campaign "Careful! Machismo Kills!"
three months ago with solemn memorial services dedicated to victims of
femicide. It used empty pairs of shoes to represent the more than 300 women
they estimate have been murdered because of their gender since 2001.

Sparking National Debate

The services took place simultaneously in six Chilean cities, sparking a
national debate on TV, in newspapers and in community forums on how to
confront and end the violence.

Since July the advocacy network has been distributing informative flyers and
holding round-table discussions in community centers around Santiago.
Volunteers have been active in five of Chile's 14 regions--which are the
equivalent of states--in order to raise awareness.

An October study by the Santiago-based Faculty of Latin American Social
Studies identified five main contributing factors to Chilean femicides: the
young age of both the victims and their aggressors; a paucity of
organizations to help victims of domestic violence; cultural norms that
encourage men to control women's actions; the secretiveness of the violence,
which often takes place behind closed doors; and the lack of legal norms set
in place to both protect women and prosecute their assailants.

Maria Lenina del Canto, who heads both the Movement for the Emancipation of
Chilean Women, a Santiago-based group that promotes gender equality and the
anti-femicide initiative, sees two main advances since the start of the
campaign in July.

"The first one is that many women, who before did not have anyone to turn to
for help, are now getting involved with the network. They are denouncing and
rejecting femicide."

She says the second advance is far greater awareness of the crime. "There is
a lot more discussion about femicide than there was before. There is more
coverage in the media . . . the media is picking up on our efforts. If news
stories about femicide get on the radio or on television, then more people
are aware."

Del Canto says that while the group attracted hundreds to their July event,
she expects that between 10,000 and 12,000 women will participate in the
marches later this month.

Despite the public and legislative attention the campaign has spurred, she
says the campaign is far from over. "We will be finishing the bulk of our
work this year with the November march," she says. "But we have to prepare
to continue this campaign next year."

Matt Malinowski is the editor of the Santiago Times, Chile's only English
language daily, and contributes to the Christian Science Monitor.

Women's eNews welcomes your comments. E-mail us at editors@womensenews.org .

For more information:

Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence in Chile - (in Spanish): -
http://www.nomasviolenciacontramujeres.cl/

Amnesty International: - http://web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/index-eng

"Chile's New Sex-Harassment Law Takes Off": -
http://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2354/

Note: Women's eNews is not responsible for the content of external Internet
sites and the contents of Web pages we link to may change without notice. -
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Courtesy of:Mujeres Revolucionarias

HOUSTON: Sunday Rally for HISD Bond -- NOV 4

PRESS ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 2, 2007

CONTACT:
Anna Núñez
Cell: (713) 857-9160
E-mail: anna.nunez@yahoo.com


LATINO COMMUNITY RALLY FOR HISD BOND
East End Parents & Students Highlight School Needs


WHO:
East End Parents and Students (over 60) will speak about the problems at Burnett Elementary.

WHAT:
Latino Community Rally in support of HISD Bonds

WHERE:
Eastwood Park
5000 Harrisburg & Dumble Street
Houston, Texas 77011

WHEN:
Sunday, November 4, 2007, 2:00 p.m. (Press conference to begin at 2:30 p.m.)

WHY:
Parents and children of Burnett Elementary (predominantly Latino) are calling upon the Latino community to vote on Tuesday, November 6th, in support of the HISD Bond.

“Our main concern is our children’s safety and we want security cameras,“says parent María Treviño whose daughter Andrea attends Burnett Elementary. “It’s a must. Everyday we are faced with different issues and our children’s safety has to be our priority.”

Parents constantly complain that when it rains, the roof leaks and water actually pours into the classroom through the windows.

Top on their list of complaints is a broken air-conditioning system, which is slated to be replaced with the $1.5 million Burnett Elementary will receive upon passage of the HISD Bond.

“Our children had no air-conditioning on Friday and it’s hot!” continues Ms. Treviño. “We’ve had two hot days this week and our children sit in hot classrooms with no cool air. Parents are worried and concerned for their children. We need new everything!”

# # #

National Black Out Day -- NOV 2

FYI, as of yesterday Michael Bell was remanded back to jail by the same judge who tried him as an adult. He was sentenced to 18 additional months on a probation violation supposedly. As a result, his parents are being charged approximately $600 per month for each month that he is housed in prison. On Tuesday, Michael's father was fired from his job because his employer told him that he needed someone who could be at work and that he was taking off too much. We really need to stick together and make our voices be heard. This could be our children. We are regressing fast as a people.

This morning Al Sharpton vowed that he would make sure that the family would not have to pay the money, if it had to come out of his own pocket. This is so sad. Let's all try to be proactive in this matter. --

Please spread to at least five other people and make sure you inform them to send the info to five other people, to spread the word.

National Black Out Day
on November 2….

Do not make any purchases on this day but please do not make any major $ amount purchases, the day before or the day after because then the Black Out will be of no effect. This is from 102.5 Grown & Sexy radio station; they are asking their listeners to spread the word for those who may not listen to the station.

This is the second phase from the Jena 6 and many other cities and people of color are facing similar situation like the Jena 6.

Courtesy of:
INDIGENOUS NATIONS ALLIANCE-MILLIONS MORE MOVEMENT